- - - - - - - -
"Aurora designate Wanderer, cut your engines and prepare to be boarded." The pilot of the TSF Redeemer gunship said over the comm channel. "You are under arrest." The police officer didn't need to say what would happen if John didn't comply. John felt like screaming: The jump-hole out of Terra that would lead him to New Pittsburgh was right in front of him, maybe thirty seconds of full-burn away, and with every second that passed, another ship jumped out of Terra. Any one of those ships could be the Tiger's Claw escaping the system so they could head to New Pittsburgh. Nothing could stop them from finding the access codes now, not if John was to be thrown into some prison and await sentencing. John felt like screaming, but all he did was push the throttle back and let the ship come to a gentle stop, grinding his teeth in sheer frustration.
The vacuum of space made it impossible for John to hear the Redeemer roar above the Aurora, but he knew it'd be a matter of seconds until the Redeemer would start to dock, and that was all the time he'd have to plan. Once the two ships were connected, there was no going back. As much as John wanted a diplomatic solution, to try to explain his situation to the police, he had a feeling it wouldn't work. Pirates hunting for an ancient storehouse in unexplored space? Even with John in the middle of it all, it still sounded outlandish. Just cutting and running wouldn't work either, not with every gun on the Redeemer pointed at him. Even when docked, the gunship's nose turret would be locked right onto the Wanderer's cockpit. If he wanted to get away, he would need to think outside the box.
John pulled up the maneuvering console and began plugging in very specific instructions. They were simple enough commands: When an execute order was given, the Wanderer would close and seal her entrances, and then all the maneuvering thrusters along the top of the Aurora would fire a two second burst at full throttle. John had learned this particular trick years ago, back when people called him "Lieutenant" and he flew billion-credit Hornets rather than a cheap Aurora. It was an old smuggler's trick, and John had seen it first hand. He had never thought he had to use it, but then again he had never thought he'd have to escape the TSF.
The Aurora shuddered as the docking process began between the Redeemer and the Wanderer. John gripped his stick tight as he figured out the timing in his head. They'd ask for him to come out, he wouldn't, and then they'd send someone to drag him aboard the police ship. Timing was everything: Too soon, and they'd be able to quickly react and shoot John down. Too slow, and he'd be going to Terra in hand-cuffs, and he doubted he'd be conscious for the ride. John closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and waited.
There was a mechanical groan as the seal was fixed, and within seconds the comms channel buzzed. "Disable your ship and surrender yourself to the officers at the airlock. Failure to comply will be met with force. Attempts to escape will be met with force." The voice of the policeman on the other end was tense and agitated. They weren't playing around with John. He took another deep breath, and gripped the joystick tight, John's heart pounding in his chest like a fleshy gong. The seconds were passing agonizingly slowly, seeming to stretch on into infinity. What felt like a century later, the comms channel crackled to life again. "Last warning. Surrender yourself now, or you will be forcibly removed from your vessel."
John was tempted to try to say something in the attempt to goad the TSF into making a play. Every second he wasted just seconds away from the jump-hole was another second of lead by the Tiger's Claw. He couldn't afford to wait much longer. He didn't need to, as the comms came alive one last time. "Alright, then." The officer on the other end said, grimly. John tapped the console, and brought up the "execute" command. He hovered his hand above the button, and counted down from seven. When he finally hit zero, John slapped down on the display.
There was a pause, and for a second John's heart stopped in his chest. He frantically ran through in his head the code he had hastily typed in, trying to remember any mistake, but a heartbeat later there was a hiss as the door closed. The Wanderer shook, hard, as its maneuvering thrusters lit up. John looked up to see the Aurora pulling away from the Redeemer above it. Again, John feared that it wasn't going to work, but a second later the thrusters on the bottom of the police cutter flared to life as well. "Yes!" John shouted, putting his hand to the throttle. The Redeemer's automatic systems weren't programmed to register intent; the instant they sensed that the two ships, docked together, were starting to move, it reacted the best it could in an attempt to stabilize it. It had no idea that such a maneuver would give John the chance he needed to get away. John could already feel the Wanderer shake as the docking seal failed. There was one final tremor, and suddenly she was free again.
And then someone smacked a stun baton against the crown of John's visor.
"What the fuck?" John shouted, turning in his seat. There was an acrid smell in the air, and a TSF officer wielding a baton standing inches away from him. The two of them stared at each other awkwardly, surprised at the exchange. Then the TSF officer started to fiddle on the stun baton, and the soft glow on the stick began to brighten. John quickly turned back to his console, and keyed in the only command he could think of on short notice.
The gravity deactivated, and immediately the officer began to lose contact with the floor. "What the hell?" The policewoman shouted, surprised. John kicked the throttle forward, and the Aurora shot forward. The officer, however, flew to the back of the ship, and fast. She slammed into the rear bulkhead with a loud crash. John reactivated the artificial gravity, and she slumped to the floor, lifelessly.
"Oh, shit!" John yelled in alarm. For a terrible moment, he thought that he had somehow killed her, but the officer bobbed her head painfully. She was alive, but stunned, and that would have to be enough. He turned his attention back to the controls, the jump-hole only seconds away. John tapped the comms channel, sending a message to the Redeemer scrambling to gain control of itself. "I'm sorry, this wasn't supposed to happen!" John practically shouted into the radio. "But if I don't go, a lot of people are going to die!" Before he could say anything else, the universe dissipated into the endless blue of jump-space, and the comms channel cut. "Dammit!" John shouted; he had no idea how much of that got through, and even if all of it did, it wouldn't make any difference.
John was a wanted man now.
- - - - - - - -
With the ship flying effectively on auto-pilot, John turned his attention to his "hitchhiker." Making his way up and out of his chair, he got his first real good look at her. She was wearing the standard police armor, painted a sleek black with white stripes up the flanks of the body. The initials "TSF" were stamped on her chest plate, just in case you were confused who was giving you a ticket. Her stun-baton lay useless on the floor, a light on the side flashing softly. John quickly picked it up and tapped on the wall console. A slot opened, and he quickly threw it through. There was a soft "thunk", and that was that; the stun baton would be floating aimlessly through space.
All that was left was what to do with the cop herself. He couldn't very well leave her there unrestrained, and he definitely didn't have the supplies to tie her up. Thinking quickly, John tapped on the console to open the small entrance to the bunk. As the glass opening parted, he leaned over and carefully lifted the unconscious form of the officer off the ground. He made special precaution to make sure that she went in feet-first, for reasons that would become readily apparent to her when she regained consciousness.
As soon as the policewoman was safely stored, John closed the small glass entrance behind her and locked it. She wasn't getting through it anytime soon. With that finished, John gave a long sigh and slumped against the wall of the starship. "Shit, what've I gotten myself into?" He groaned as he slinked to the floor.
It felt like everything he'd done over the past few days was piling on top of him all at once: Finding the body, the horrible image of a man dying lit by the flash of John's gun, the smoldering body of Webber... And now he had made enemies of the few people left that could have helped him stop the Tiger's Claw. It was just him now; no friends, and a whole lot of enemies. He had fought with friends in the Navy, with a wingman and as a part of a team. He wasn't cut out for doing things alone forever.
John's eyes felt heavy, and he vaguely remembered that he'd been operating entirely on adrenaline for the past two days, more or less. He hadn't gotten any sleep since he'd left Earth, and now exhaustion hit him like a wave. Slowly, John drifted away, the soft hum of the Wanderer's systems lulling him off.
- - - - - - - -
John woke to the sound of banging, a rapid fusillade of raps against glass. Startled, he quickly snapped back to reality, his eyes darting about as he tried to figure out the source of the sound. His mind took quick account of his surroundings: The blue glow of jumpspace still shimmered through the windows, so he hadn't been out for too long. The hull shuddered gently, a comforting buzz that meant all was well. "What on-" John started, before another set of taps rang out. He quickly spun his head around, scrambling to his feet.
The black armored fist of the TSF Officer pounded on the pane of reinforced glass separating the bunk from the rest of the Aurora. The faceless helmet glowered at John, and he could feel the hidden eyes of the cop boring into his skull.
Suddenly, John remembered everything that had happened above Terra. For a little while, at least, he had hoped it had all been some bad dream, but John look some comfort that his luck remained consistent. He crossed his arms and sighed as he tried to think what to say. "Shit." He hissed as he unfurled his arms and walked to the glass separating him from his "prisoner". "Welcome aboard the Wanderer." He started, trying to sound as genial as he could. "I'm John Andrews; I own this ship." There was a pause as the officer stared back.
"McKenzie, Rachel. Police Corporal. Terran Security Force. Three-four-three-dash-nine-two-six-four-one." The policewoman intoned hesitantly. She had been trained for this, but there was fear in her voice-she had never been captured before. Neither had John; he couldn't imagine what was running through her mind.
"I'm not a bad guy." John said, calmly. "This has all been a mistake."
"Oh yeah, resisting arrest and taking a TSF officer prisoner is a completely reasonable mistake!" Rachel spat back at John through the glass. He had to admire her spunk, although he doubted the reason of taunting your captor. Luckily for her, he wasn't a psychopath. John gave a slight smile.
"It's a fair cop." John continued, grinning at his little pun. "I promise you, though, I really don't mean you any harm. I've been having a real shitty week, honestly, and you're just the icing on the cake." Rachel seemed to glower at him through her visor.
"Is that supposed to be an excuse?" She replied, dryly.
"No, just an explanation." He admitted. "If everything had gone to plan, you would still be aboard that gunship." John grimaced, and crossed his arms again. "Look, long story short, I'm going after some bad people, and I just couldn't afford getting caught."
"What are you, some kind of bounty hunter?" Rachel asked, skeptically. John shook his head. "Advocacy?" She probed again, this time timidly. She had to have heard the stories about what happened to people who interrupted Advocacy missions.
"No, no, nothing like that." John answered. Rachel let out a quiet sigh of relief. "I'm just an average guy."
"Who thought they could play vigilante?" Rachel countered, disdainfully.
"It's not like I wanted to." John noted. "I just kinda got roped in." Even though John couldn't see Rachel's face, he imagined a skeptical eyebrow was raised. John sighed, before leaning against the hull wall. "Look, we've gotta be leaving jumpspace in any minute, so I don't have time for the whole story."
"How about the bullet points?" Rachel half-way demanded. John vaguely wondered who was running this information: All he'd managed to get out of her so far was her name, rank, and serial number.
"Alright." He said, simply. "I'm a private pilot, have been since I left the Navy a few years ago."
"You're Navy?" Rachel interrupted, surprised.
"Yup." John replied with a nod. "I flew a Hornet off a carrier out in the colonies." He gave a dismissive shrug, but sighed wistfully as his mind took him through a slide-show of the high points of the career. He made sure not to remember the low ones. "Anyways, I've made a living for myself, and kept out of trouble until a few days ago. I took a job out to Min, and stumbled across something I wasn't supposed to." John frowned, and contemplated showing Rachel the video that had started it all. He decided not too; too much trouble, and it would take too long. Maybe some other time, he thought, rather optimistically given the situation he was in. "Since then, the Tiger's Claw has been gunning for me, and I've always been just one step behind them."
"The Tiger's Claw?" Rachel interjected again, skeptically. "They hit the outer colonies, they wouldn't be crazy enough to hit Terra."
"They weren't hitting Terra, they were looking for this-" John gestured to the large storage block hooked up to the electronics of the Aurora. "It's a storage device with a map on it, and they have a copy." Before Rachel could interrupt, John continued. They had to be just a few seconds away from dropping out of jump-space. "The map leads to an old military base that has the codes to unlock some weapons depot. The stuff they could steal there could lead to a lot of people dying."
"Well, why didn't you tell the Advocacy?" Rachel asked. "I mean, this is their-"
"I tried that." John stopped her. "Then my friend ended up dead. I've been on my own for a while now." Rachel was quiet, unsure what to say. "You're actually the only person who knows the story and isn't trying to kill me." John muttered.
Suddenly, the Wanderer began to shudder, and an alarm beeped in the cockpit. "What's going on?" Rachel asked, as John moved to the cockpit.
"We're dropping out of jump-space!" John shouted to her as he strapped himself in. "You might want to hold-" The Aurora shook hard as reality asserted itself, and John felt inertia smack against him like a hammer. As soon as the shuddering stopped, the light of the system's sun shone before him. John tapped on the navigation console, and quickly tapped in the course to New Pittsburgh. It'd take a while, and he had until then to plan what he'd do. He turned his head to check up on his "passenger". "Hold up okay back there?" He yelled.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" She shouted back, crossly. "What the hell kind of bed has so many hard surfaces?"
"It's not a Yacht, what did you expect?" John yelped, dryly. "Just hang on, I'll be back there in a bit!" He turned his attention back to the stars and let his mind turn. Once again, John was walking into a situation where he was outnumbered and outgunned. This time, he also had no idea what he'd be entering. The Hangar had been rough, but at least it was form-and-function identical to any other hangar in that spaceport. An ancient military facility was unknown territory, through and through. It could be a relative labyrinth, and if there was any power activated, the security systems would likely still be engaged. In fact, it was doubtful that the facility had survived the ages at all. John's public school education came back to mind as he thought of all the violent upheavals there had been. The place might just be some scrap-heap.
"That'd be anti-climatic." John muttered under his breath.
Assuming that the facility was intact, he'd be walking into a very bad situation. The problem was that he couldn't bring Rachel along. Chances were that she'd knock him unconscious and drag him back to a police station as soon as she felt she could. If that happened at the wrong time, the pirates could get away scot free, and then there went the universe. At the same time, he couldn't just leave her aboard the Wanderer alone. If something happened to John, she would be trapped, and would eventually starve to death.
John opened up the console and began to type up some simple commands, thinking as he went. An idea struck him, and he quickly started formatting the proper input to pull it off. Pressing "execute", the Aurora's computers almost instantly processed what John had typed.
"Hey, the computer over here is doing something!" Rachel shouted, excitedly.
"Hang on, let me land first, and then I'll tell you about it!" John replied, before turning his focus back front. New Pittsburgh loomed before him, and in seconds the Wanderer began to cut through the outer edges of the planet's atmosphere. The glass gleamed a hot gold as the starship began reentry, but within seconds the glow had faded and the sound of the Aurora's engines filled the air. John pulled up the Nav and kept his eye on it as he began to pilot the ship to where he had seen MC01 on the ancient map. He brought the starship low, hugging the sands and cutting past rocky cliffs as the Wanderer approached her destination. At just about five kilometers out, John slowed the ship to a halt, and slowly touched it down behind an outcropping.
As soon as the ship landed, John began to shut systems off, one at a time. He checked the comms panel, which was thankfully clear. So far, the New Pittsburgh port authorities had not detected the Wanderer. He had made sure they hadn't, shadowing his entire approach to the planet as best he could by using the magnetic interference of other worlds and moons in the system. Once he had entered atmosphere, John had took the Wanderer up from the south pole, again misting him in interference. It was highly illegal, of course, but if John needed to leave in a moment's notice, he couldn't afford to wait to sign paperwork. Naturally, John had made sure that his IFF was not transmitting. It had been a spot of luck that John had entered the system during an unexpected lull in traffic. Terra had probably closed the Jumphole to civilian traffic after his escapade.
John got up out of his seat and worked his way back to Rachel, who was glowering at John through her helmet. "Sorry, we came in a little hot." John apologized. "I had to stay off sensors."
"It's fine." She replied, irritation in the back of her voice. "What did you do to the panel?"
"It's linked to my suit." John answered, taking a knee so he could peer through the glass. "You'll be able to see what my suit's internal camera sees, and can contact me through a private channel. You're going to be a second set of eyes for me." Rachel did a poor job of not seeming interested when John mentioned the comms system. "I've locked everything else out, so you won't be able to contact local authorities."
"And I'm supposed to believe you're not a 'bad guy'." She practically growled at him.
"I'm not." John said, firmly. "Should I die, the ship will unlock and you'll have full control over everything. You can get help, tell everyone what happened." Rachel was quiet, surprised. "I'm not trying to keep you as a hostage. I don't have any choice here."
"Yeah, you've said that." She replied, sharply. Despite her cutting response, John had the vague feeling that she didn't seem as hostile as before.
"Just look for anything I might miss, and tell me. If we're lucky, we might just be able to end this all here." John concluded. Standing up, John checked his equipment one last time, then opened the Aurora's door. It opened with a hiss to reveal the long open desert of New Pittsburgh. In the distance, the crack in the world loomed like an open wound. Five kilometers of walking awaited him.
John climbed down the extended ladder, and the door closed behind him, leaving Rachel alone in the quiet ship.
- - - - - - - -
The walk had been long and quiet apart from the initial comms check. John had checked his Glas to make sure he was still going the right way, and even though the device said he was, he couldn't help but feel like be bad somehow missed it. As he began to crest another ridge, a glint of metal struck John's eyes, and he quickly flattened himself to the ground.
"What was that?" John hissed over the radio.
"I don't know!" Rachel replied. "Can you get your helmet a bit higher so I can see?" John nodded, then caught himself when he remembered that all she'd see was a bobbing image.
"Yeah, one sec." He slowly crawled up the sand, slinking inch by inch until the very top of his helmet poked up above the ridge. There was a pause as Rachel examined what she was seeing.
"Okay, I see a landed Constellation." She started. "It's engines are on, but I don't see anyone boarding." She paused as she continued to examine the camera footage. "I can see some guards by the ship, too."
"How many?" John asked, grimacing. He reached for his LH-86 and curled his fingers around the grip. Worst case scenario, he'd have to fight his way through them.
"Just two." Rachel replied, surprised.
"They have a lot more than just two." John noted. "They're either aboard the Constellation, or in the base itself." He paused. "Speaking of which, where the hell is the base?"
"I don't know." Rachel answered. "Is it behind the-" Suddenly, the sound of footsteps against metal floors echoed through the empty desert. John instinctively slid down the ridge an inch, concealing himself totally.
"What the hell?" John muttered, confused. "Where is that coming from?" It certainly wasn't coming from the ship, the sound was far too loud. He had to be right on top of the source, somehow. The sound of footsteps changed a second later into that of the trudging through sand, and finally John figured it out. "I'm such a dumbass." He sighed.
"What?" Rachel asked, confused.
"The ridge I'm on." John whispered. "All the sand is covering the entrance. I'm on top of the damn door." He inched back up the ridge, letting the top of the helmet peek over again. As soon as he did, he could hear shouting.
"Where are the others?" Someone shouted, surprised.
"They're fucking dead, man!" Another replied, in a voice close to panic. "Just me and O'Leary made it out!"
"I've got two talking to the guards outside the Constellation." Rachel reported, a touch unnecessarily. John could imagine the scene well enough. "The two that just showed up don't look too good, either. One of them looks like he's been wounded by something, he's cupping his side."
"The defenses must still be active." John hissed. That would complicate things, but at least all the pirates had left the facility. He gripped his pistol tightly, and planned his move. If he could pop over the ridge quickly enough, he could gun down all four of the pirates before they got inside the Constellation. The ship would burn for home as soon as he did, but at least the secret of MC01 would die with the grunts stuck on New Pittsburgh.
"Did you get the intel?" One of the pirates asked, frustrated. "Mercer will gut us if you didn't!"
"Yeah, we got the codes, but-" Another replied, but he was cut off by the previous voice.
"Fuck it, that'll do, let's go!" The pirate said. John gripped his pistol tight: It was now or never. He popped up over the ridge, pistol in hand, glaring down the sight, but it was too late. The last of the pirates were on the rising access lift, and within a second they were inside the Constellation. His LH-86 wouldn't do anything to the vessel, it had nowhere near enough stopping power to go through a starship hull. The big ship's engines flared as it began to take off, and a heartbeat later it was screaming for the clouds, a big steel-grey arrow against the clear blue sky.
"Fuck!" John shouted gutturally. The Tiger's Claw was gone, and it'd be only a couple of minutes before they left the system entirely. There was no way John was heading them off now. His mind raced as he tried to find something he might have missed, anything that could keep him in the chase. "Did anything stand out to you?" He demanded over the comms. "Anything at all about what they said, what they looked like, anything!"
"Well," Rachel started, taken aback by the sudden ferocity in John's voice. "I did notice something."
"Yes, what was it?" John pressed, impatient. He couldn't afford to wait, not now.
"I'm getting to it!" Rachel snapped back. "One of them said that they'd found 'the codes', but he didn't get to finish his sentence. He was going to say something else, but he got cut off." John paused as he remembered a few second back. He nodded as his mind played the very recent memory.
"Okay, that might be something." John said, gears turning in his head.
"Maybe they didn't get all the information?" Rachel continued.
"Well, they have the codes, and they know where the depot is." John replied, grimacing. "I don't know what else they could be missing." He holstered his pistol and started walking to his right, and off the ridge. "There's only one way to find out."
"You're going in?" Rachel asked, surprised. "What about the Constellation?"
"It's gone, there's no way we're gonna catch up, not with me hoofing it a few kilometers back to the Wanderer." John answered. "If we're gonna beat these bastards, we need to find out what they're missing." He reached ground level, and quickly turned to see a gaping opening where the pirates had entered and exited MC01. John wasn't surprised to see faint sterile-white light coming from inside what looked to be an elevator. "I guess the generators never turned off."
"We're dropping out of jump-space!" John shouted to her as he strapped himself in. "You might want to hold-" The Aurora shook hard as reality asserted itself, and John felt inertia smack against him like a hammer. As soon as the shuddering stopped, the light of the system's sun shone before him. John tapped on the navigation console, and quickly tapped in the course to New Pittsburgh. It'd take a while, and he had until then to plan what he'd do. He turned his head to check up on his "passenger". "Hold up okay back there?" He yelled.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" She shouted back, crossly. "What the hell kind of bed has so many hard surfaces?"
"It's not a Yacht, what did you expect?" John yelped, dryly. "Just hang on, I'll be back there in a bit!" He turned his attention back to the stars and let his mind turn. Once again, John was walking into a situation where he was outnumbered and outgunned. This time, he also had no idea what he'd be entering. The Hangar had been rough, but at least it was form-and-function identical to any other hangar in that spaceport. An ancient military facility was unknown territory, through and through. It could be a relative labyrinth, and if there was any power activated, the security systems would likely still be engaged. In fact, it was doubtful that the facility had survived the ages at all. John's public school education came back to mind as he thought of all the violent upheavals there had been. The place might just be some scrap-heap.
"That'd be anti-climatic." John muttered under his breath.
Assuming that the facility was intact, he'd be walking into a very bad situation. The problem was that he couldn't bring Rachel along. Chances were that she'd knock him unconscious and drag him back to a police station as soon as she felt she could. If that happened at the wrong time, the pirates could get away scot free, and then there went the universe. At the same time, he couldn't just leave her aboard the Wanderer alone. If something happened to John, she would be trapped, and would eventually starve to death.
John opened up the console and began to type up some simple commands, thinking as he went. An idea struck him, and he quickly started formatting the proper input to pull it off. Pressing "execute", the Aurora's computers almost instantly processed what John had typed.
"Hey, the computer over here is doing something!" Rachel shouted, excitedly.
"Hang on, let me land first, and then I'll tell you about it!" John replied, before turning his focus back front. New Pittsburgh loomed before him, and in seconds the Wanderer began to cut through the outer edges of the planet's atmosphere. The glass gleamed a hot gold as the starship began reentry, but within seconds the glow had faded and the sound of the Aurora's engines filled the air. John pulled up the Nav and kept his eye on it as he began to pilot the ship to where he had seen MC01 on the ancient map. He brought the starship low, hugging the sands and cutting past rocky cliffs as the Wanderer approached her destination. At just about five kilometers out, John slowed the ship to a halt, and slowly touched it down behind an outcropping.
As soon as the ship landed, John began to shut systems off, one at a time. He checked the comms panel, which was thankfully clear. So far, the New Pittsburgh port authorities had not detected the Wanderer. He had made sure they hadn't, shadowing his entire approach to the planet as best he could by using the magnetic interference of other worlds and moons in the system. Once he had entered atmosphere, John had took the Wanderer up from the south pole, again misting him in interference. It was highly illegal, of course, but if John needed to leave in a moment's notice, he couldn't afford to wait to sign paperwork. Naturally, John had made sure that his IFF was not transmitting. It had been a spot of luck that John had entered the system during an unexpected lull in traffic. Terra had probably closed the Jumphole to civilian traffic after his escapade.
John got up out of his seat and worked his way back to Rachel, who was glowering at John through her helmet. "Sorry, we came in a little hot." John apologized. "I had to stay off sensors."
"It's fine." She replied, irritation in the back of her voice. "What did you do to the panel?"
"It's linked to my suit." John answered, taking a knee so he could peer through the glass. "You'll be able to see what my suit's internal camera sees, and can contact me through a private channel. You're going to be a second set of eyes for me." Rachel did a poor job of not seeming interested when John mentioned the comms system. "I've locked everything else out, so you won't be able to contact local authorities."
"And I'm supposed to believe you're not a 'bad guy'." She practically growled at him.
"I'm not." John said, firmly. "Should I die, the ship will unlock and you'll have full control over everything. You can get help, tell everyone what happened." Rachel was quiet, surprised. "I'm not trying to keep you as a hostage. I don't have any choice here."
"Yeah, you've said that." She replied, sharply. Despite her cutting response, John had the vague feeling that she didn't seem as hostile as before.
"Just look for anything I might miss, and tell me. If we're lucky, we might just be able to end this all here." John concluded. Standing up, John checked his equipment one last time, then opened the Aurora's door. It opened with a hiss to reveal the long open desert of New Pittsburgh. In the distance, the crack in the world loomed like an open wound. Five kilometers of walking awaited him.
John climbed down the extended ladder, and the door closed behind him, leaving Rachel alone in the quiet ship.
- - - - - - - -
The walk had been long and quiet apart from the initial comms check. John had checked his Glas to make sure he was still going the right way, and even though the device said he was, he couldn't help but feel like be bad somehow missed it. As he began to crest another ridge, a glint of metal struck John's eyes, and he quickly flattened himself to the ground.
"What was that?" John hissed over the radio.
"I don't know!" Rachel replied. "Can you get your helmet a bit higher so I can see?" John nodded, then caught himself when he remembered that all she'd see was a bobbing image.
"Yeah, one sec." He slowly crawled up the sand, slinking inch by inch until the very top of his helmet poked up above the ridge. There was a pause as Rachel examined what she was seeing.
"Okay, I see a landed Constellation." She started. "It's engines are on, but I don't see anyone boarding." She paused as she continued to examine the camera footage. "I can see some guards by the ship, too."
"How many?" John asked, grimacing. He reached for his LH-86 and curled his fingers around the grip. Worst case scenario, he'd have to fight his way through them.
"Just two." Rachel replied, surprised.
"They have a lot more than just two." John noted. "They're either aboard the Constellation, or in the base itself." He paused. "Speaking of which, where the hell is the base?"
"I don't know." Rachel answered. "Is it behind the-" Suddenly, the sound of footsteps against metal floors echoed through the empty desert. John instinctively slid down the ridge an inch, concealing himself totally.
"What the hell?" John muttered, confused. "Where is that coming from?" It certainly wasn't coming from the ship, the sound was far too loud. He had to be right on top of the source, somehow. The sound of footsteps changed a second later into that of the trudging through sand, and finally John figured it out. "I'm such a dumbass." He sighed.
"What?" Rachel asked, confused.
"The ridge I'm on." John whispered. "All the sand is covering the entrance. I'm on top of the damn door." He inched back up the ridge, letting the top of the helmet peek over again. As soon as he did, he could hear shouting.
"Where are the others?" Someone shouted, surprised.
"They're fucking dead, man!" Another replied, in a voice close to panic. "Just me and O'Leary made it out!"
"I've got two talking to the guards outside the Constellation." Rachel reported, a touch unnecessarily. John could imagine the scene well enough. "The two that just showed up don't look too good, either. One of them looks like he's been wounded by something, he's cupping his side."
"The defenses must still be active." John hissed. That would complicate things, but at least all the pirates had left the facility. He gripped his pistol tightly, and planned his move. If he could pop over the ridge quickly enough, he could gun down all four of the pirates before they got inside the Constellation. The ship would burn for home as soon as he did, but at least the secret of MC01 would die with the grunts stuck on New Pittsburgh.
"Did you get the intel?" One of the pirates asked, frustrated. "Mercer will gut us if you didn't!"
"Yeah, we got the codes, but-" Another replied, but he was cut off by the previous voice.
"Fuck it, that'll do, let's go!" The pirate said. John gripped his pistol tight: It was now or never. He popped up over the ridge, pistol in hand, glaring down the sight, but it was too late. The last of the pirates were on the rising access lift, and within a second they were inside the Constellation. His LH-86 wouldn't do anything to the vessel, it had nowhere near enough stopping power to go through a starship hull. The big ship's engines flared as it began to take off, and a heartbeat later it was screaming for the clouds, a big steel-grey arrow against the clear blue sky.
"Fuck!" John shouted gutturally. The Tiger's Claw was gone, and it'd be only a couple of minutes before they left the system entirely. There was no way John was heading them off now. His mind raced as he tried to find something he might have missed, anything that could keep him in the chase. "Did anything stand out to you?" He demanded over the comms. "Anything at all about what they said, what they looked like, anything!"
"Well," Rachel started, taken aback by the sudden ferocity in John's voice. "I did notice something."
"Yes, what was it?" John pressed, impatient. He couldn't afford to wait, not now.
"I'm getting to it!" Rachel snapped back. "One of them said that they'd found 'the codes', but he didn't get to finish his sentence. He was going to say something else, but he got cut off." John paused as he remembered a few second back. He nodded as his mind played the very recent memory.
"Okay, that might be something." John said, gears turning in his head.
"Maybe they didn't get all the information?" Rachel continued.
"Well, they have the codes, and they know where the depot is." John replied, grimacing. "I don't know what else they could be missing." He holstered his pistol and started walking to his right, and off the ridge. "There's only one way to find out."
"You're going in?" Rachel asked, surprised. "What about the Constellation?"
"It's gone, there's no way we're gonna catch up, not with me hoofing it a few kilometers back to the Wanderer." John answered. "If we're gonna beat these bastards, we need to find out what they're missing." He reached ground level, and quickly turned to see a gaping opening where the pirates had entered and exited MC01. John wasn't surprised to see faint sterile-white light coming from inside what looked to be an elevator. "I guess the generators never turned off."
"Why would they abandon this base?" Rachel asked, confused. "The people who built it, I mean."
"Pre-Imperial governments weren't known for being stable. They probably abandoned it after the old democracy collapsed and didn't bother to turn out the lights." John replied, but his answer sounded hollow even to him. Something was up: Why leave all this sensitive location intact?
"If you say so." Rachel muttered, unconvinced. "Going down?"
"Hopefully not too far down." John said. "We might lose connection down there, but I'll see if I can't find a way to relay the signal." He walked into the waiting elevator, and tapped the only button on the wall. The doors closed as John unholstered his handgun. The elevator shuddered, then began to go down.
It was only a few seconds into the journey when the suits HUD informed John that the connection between him and the Wanderer had been lost. If he wanted Rachel's help, he'd need to find a way to patch her in. Suddenly, a thought struck John like a bullet: If the Glas couldn't connect with the Aurora, the ship's computers would come to the same conclusion as it would if John had flatlined.
Rachel was free.
- - - - - - - -
Next: With the Tiger's Claw two steps ahead of John, his only hope of stopping the death of millions is to find the data left unobtainable by Mercer's henchmen. But with ancient security systems online, John must work with Rachel, who must decide her own loyalty. The two explore the broken and deadly halls of MC01, next on Farflung Wanderer.
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